Anti-graft war: EFCC won’t spare any SAN, others – Magu

The Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, on Tuesday said the agency will not spare any Senior Advocate of Nigeria or others linked with money laundering or corrupt practices.

He asked legal practitioners to always play by the rule and avoid being used by corrupt elements to pervert justice.

He said lawyers have a greater stake in the war against corruption more than any other class of professionals.

The EFCC chief said the commission will soon go after people who buy properties with stolen funds as well as people those who used to help others to escape justice

Magu made the submissions at the opening of a one-day workshop in Abuja, which was organized by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in collaboration with the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACC).

A statement issued by the Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, quoted Magu as saying: “We will not stop going after people who are involved in laundering money. It doesn’t matter who you are, the law is a respecter of nobody especially those who commit crime.

“Whether you are EFCC, SAN or whatever, sooner or later we will start going after people who buy properties with stolen funds as well as people who help others to escape justice.

Magu, who commended the bar for being good partners in the fight against graft, however decried the attitudes of some lawyers who compromise on their jobs for criminals to escape justice.

He said lawyers have a greater stake in the war more than any other class of professionals.

He said: “The EFCC cannot stamp out corruption in the country without the support of all stakeholders.

“We consider everybody a stakeholder, as the EFCC does not have monopoly of knowledge to defeat all shades of graft.

“Legal practitioners should always play by the rule and avoid being used by corrupt elements to pervert justice. What is important is the interest of the nation which should be placed above any other interest.

In his keynote address, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, urged members of the bar to examine themselves with a view to developing workable ways to curb corruption.

The CJN, who spoke through Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, charged them to look inward as individuals in the system, and collectively as a body to improve the legal system.